Sr Director Product UX Design & Research

OUR VISION: THE WORLD. SUBSCRIBED.

Customers have changed. They’re looking for new ways to engage with businesses. Consumers today have a new set of expectations. They want outcomes, not ownership. Customization, not generalization. Constant improvement, not planned obsolescence.  

In the old world (let’s call it the Product Economy) it was all about things. Acquiring new customers, shipping commodities, billing for one-time transactions. But in today’s new era, it’s all about relationships. More and more customers are becoming subscribers because subscription experiences built around services meet consumers’ needs better than the static offerings or a single product.

Our vision is “The World Subscribed” where one day every company will be a part of the Subscription Economy® (a phrase coined by our CEO, Tien Tzuo and author of the best selling book Subscribed).

THE TEAM

Imagine a World Subscribed, where the most successful companies use Zuora because of our delightful, intuitive, and personalized experiences. The Experience Design & Research (XDR) team evangelizes customer empathy as we drive strategy by closely partnering with Product and Engineering teams. We empower and guide Zuora towards a strategic vision focused on delivering high quality design solutions that are aligned with the customer's goals and needs.

THE ROLE

The Senior Director Product UX Design & Research is a leader with the vision, skills, and passion to bring the promise of modern application usability to the world of the Enterprise Cloud Software. This person will report to our VP Product Strategy & Operations.

This is a critical and strategic leadership role, with responsibility for partnering deeply across product management, engineering, marketing, and customer-facing teams at Zuora to articulate and deliver a crisp and consistent user experience across our product lines (including other kinds of user touchpoints like online training, community, support, etc)

This leader will have direct reporting responsibility for a dynamic team of UX Designers and Researchers, and will also spearhead cross-functional efforts with a “matrixed” usability team that includes Engineering and Product Management representation.  

The ideal candidate for this role is a “player-coach” who can both roll-up their sleeves to design delightful product experiences as well as drive results by enlisting cross-functional teams across the company.

WHAT YOU’LL ACHIEVE

• Strategy Definition - Define the overall vision and strategy for our customer experience across all product lines, and aligned with our broader business strategy.
• Leadership - Advocate for an integrated, consistent experience throughout all our product experiences, and drive consensus across the company on the path to achieve it. Develop a “UX Roadmap” in partnership with Product Management. Influence and mentor across the company, focusing on coaching and developing product managers and creative team members on UX best practices.
• UX Metrics: Define and track metrics for overall Zuora product usability, as well as for specific UX initiatives. Drive our strategy for translating product usage instrumentation into actionable insights.
• People Management - Recruit, hire, manage and mentor a team of product focused interaction designers, visual designers, and user researchers.
• Process Improvement - Ensure delivery of high quality user experience and product design across multiple development projects at any given time, providing oversight and guidance while empowering team members. Responsibility for the entire UX process from research to concept to prototyping to execution.
• User Interface Framework. Establish a cohesive set of design principles and patterns that can be utilized across the engineering organization.  
• User Research - Design and lead user testing and usability research both in person and online, effectively managing internal and external resources to deliver insights and actionable results.
• Customer Knowledge - Develop a deep understanding of our market, our customers, and our users. Represent their needs and voice in the product development process.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL

• A BA/BS or higher degree in Interaction Design or related discipline (Graphic Design, Industrial Design, HCI, etc.), or equivalent experience.
• Experience recruiting and leading a design team for SaaS applications.
• Experience driving results in a complex and dynamic company environment across multiple functions and teams.
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience designing SaaS applications.
• A portfolio documenting your commitment to excellence when driving a user centered design approach for B2B applications.
• Excellent handle of your domain including but not limited to: information and UI architecture, task-flow models, state-transition diagrams, storyboarding, wireframing, user research methodologies, user centered design process, design specifications and guidelines.
• A minimum of 4 years of experience designing and conducting user research studies, as well as drawing succinct conclusions and actionable recommendations.
• An ability to see past the noise to identify the underlying business requirements and translate them into elegant, thoughtful designs.
• Fluency in application usage metrics as well as the awareness of when and how to leverage them to drive design decisions.

ABOUT ZUORA & OUR “ZEO” CULTURE

Zuora (NYSE: ZUO) Zuora provides the leading cloud-based subscription management platform that functions as a system of record for subscription businesses across all industries. Powering the Subscription Economy®, the Zuora platform was architected specifically for dynamic, recurring subscription business models and acts as an intelligent subscription management hub that automates and orchestrates the entire subscription order-to-revenue process seamlessly across billing and revenue recognition. Zuora serves more than 1,000 companies around the world, including Box, Ford, Penske Media Corporation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Xplornet, and Zoom.

At Zuora, we have one CEO but ​every employee is empowered and supported to be the ‘ZEO’ of their own career experience. By embedding inclusion and belonging into our processes, policies and culture, we are building a workplace where our 1,200+ ZEOs across North America, Europe, and APAC can bring all the elements of who they are into their work. In addition to an industry-leading six-month, 100% paid parental leave for all our ZEOs, we also offer programs to support your mental health and give back to our communities along with “career cash” and plenty of learning and development opportunities.

To learn more visit www.zuora.com

Zuora is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

Think, be and do you! At Zuora, different perspectives, experiences and contributions matter. Everyone counts. Zuora is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.

Zuora does not discriminate on the basis of, and considers individuals seeking employment with Zuora without regards to, race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. Applicants in need of special assistance or accommodation during the interview process or in accessing our website may contact us by sending an email to assistance(at)zuora.com.